Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I write to all of you with a heavy heart. Indeed, words cannot express the sorrow I feel over the loss of life as a result of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I, like everyone across the country and around the world, was shocked by the terrible tragedy and have grieved for the children and educators who lost their lives, and for the entire Newtown community.

On Sunday, I learned that eight of the twelve girls who died were Girl Scouts and that two Girl Scout families lost sons. The girls were Girl Scout Daisies who wore their uniforms proudly. The loss of any child brings with it an especially hollowing pain; to know that all of us in our Movement shared with those girls a love of Girl Scouting makes it all the more personal—and heartbreaking. Yet I know that all of us stand with our sisters at Girl Scouts of Connecticut as they endure with courage and strength this unspeakable tragedy, and I am heartened by the fact that we are developing girls who will lead our society to solutions and approaches that will prevent such tragedies in the decades ahead.

So we forge ahead, now more than ever committed to our mission of serving girls, and we do so even as we mourn this devastating and unfathomable loss. May those who perished and their families always remain in our thoughts and prayers, especially as we gather with our own families during this holiday season.